There’s wow-factor from every angle at Reine & La Rue, the ambitious, double-venue dining room and bar within the neo-gothic 1890s Melbourne Stock Exchange from the Nomad Group.

Someone ought to film a montage of the gaping mouths that pause at the entrance of “The Cathedral Room”. From the Collins Street entrance (“La Rue” is French for “the street”), a glass door slides open beneath a gothic archway, leading to a glowing front desk – why, yes, you can take our coats.

Inside, granite columns support vaulted sandstone arches above the 135-seat dining room. Either side of the room, white-jacketed staff behind long Italian red marble bars sling cocktails and seafood.

A 50-seat courtyard connects Reine (“queen”) to La Rue, an eight-seat wine bar with black terrazzo flooring, stained timber and a glass-doored wine vault.

What to eat

Mon dieu, we need to talk about the butter. Served with All Are Welcome baguette ($10), it’s a salt-flecked byproduct of the cheesemaking process from Castlemaine’s Long Paddock. Frankly, if there’s any left in your dish, you don’t deserve it.

I recommend you start with the Southern Rock lobster cocktail (market price), which leaves the 1980s behind in favour of sweet, dressed flesh, served in a half shell with cocktail sauce on the side.

Exquisite produce and a wood-fire grill are the power couple of this menu. My favourite is the half Great Ocean duck ($140), its flesh blushing pink and drenched in a rich jus.

If you are tempted by the list of steaks (they range from $65 to $420 for a 1kg Blackmore Wagyu rib-eye), then silky pomme puree ($19), with a hunk of bone marrow to spoon into the mix, is essential – as are hand-cut chips for dipping ($12).

To finish, keep room for creamy jersey milk soft-serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a smattering of hazelnuts ($22).

What to drink

The mostly Victorian, French and American wine list is 700 bottles strong, with about 40 options by the glass (including three French champagnes).

A dozen house cocktails riff on the classics, but the Flora Martini (Never Never gin, vin jaune, Dom Benedictine and pear syrup) is a rich, rounded and decadent match if you happen to have a mouthful of that Long Paddock butter.

Who to take

Reine is a lush opportunity to dress up and head out for date night (though don’t visit too early on in a relationship; you’ll be setting the bar way too high).

Best seat

Speaking of bars, there’s no better spot for solos and couples than up at the seafood bar. It’s the equivalent of Row A at a theatre, but this show involves shucking and a spectacular stained-glass window. For groups, booths and banquette tables to the right of the seafood bar have corner outlooks of the entire room.

Our favourite detail

Credit to the way the new architecture doesn’t interfere with the old; illuminated glass tiles protect mosaic flooring and speakers are built into the furniture. Failing that, just look up – you can’t beat those ornate, ogival arches.

Pro tip

Both La Rue and Reine’s cocktail bar are walk-in only, but serve the full menu.

Reine is open Tue-Sat noon-late; La Rue Tue-Sat 4pm-late.
380 Collins Street, Melbourne, 02 9280 3395, reineandlarue.melbourne